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The upcoming week is crucial for Michigan State basketball as the team prepares for its regular-season opener. The Spartans dropped both of their exhibition games against tough competition, falling to No. 4 UConn at home 78-70 and then to Marquette on the road 86-79. While it's early, MSU has not resembled the No. 6 team in the country, but freshman shooting guard Jasiah Jervis has been a consistent bright spot, reaching double figures in all three preseason contests.
Jervis was arguably Michigan State's top performer on Sunday in Milwaukee, pouring in a team-high 19 points and connecting on four three-pointers. Freshmen rarely start this early under head coach Tom Izzo; the last true freshman to start a season opener was Max Christie in 2021-22. There is a strong possibility that Jervis will break that trend when the Spartans face Quinnipiac next Monday.
One notable adjustment in Sunday's exhibition was Jervis's insertion into the starting lineup. Izzo replaced Cam Ward and Anton Bonke with Jervis and Jesse McCulloch, opting for a smaller lineup that shifted Jordan Scott and Coen Carr to the three and four positions, respectively. While it was a rough outing for MSU in Milwaukee, Jervis was not the problem. He and Scott were the only players who delivered truly productive performances; Scott added 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting and 3-of-7 from beyond the arc. The rest of the team combined to shoot just 2-of-12 from three-point range.
Key Analysis
Much of the offensive burden may fall on Michigan State's backcourt this season. The center position has been a major concern, and power forward has not been a reliable strength with Carr and Ward so far. Anton Bonke, brought in via the transfer portal to start at center, played only three minutes on Sunday and has been benched for the entire second half of back-to-back exhibition games.
The trio of Jeremy Fears Jr., Jervis, and Scott may be the three best players on the roster. Fears and Scott had already established themselves as players who need extended minutes based on last year's performance, and Jervis has played like someone who deserves well over 20 minutes per game; he logged 23 minutes on Sunday. Additionally, the reinforcements have struggled: Carlos Medlock Jr. has had a rough preseason, Kur Teng has yet to find his shot (1-for-7 on Sunday), and Kaleb Glenn has not provided the secondary creation MSU expected from him on the wing.
New weaknesses have surfaced, but Jervis appears to be the pure scorer at shooting guard that Michigan State lacked last year. The Spartans cycled through several options at the two in 2025-26, but none meshed well with Fears. Jervis is simply a 'bucket,' as the saying goes. His best attribute is scoring, and MSU has been short on guards who can reliably create offense during droughts, especially beyond the point guard position.
The Fears-Jervis-Scott combination offers a bit of everything a backcourt needs. Jervis and Scott are both strong shooters (Fears' shot will be evaluated during the season), Fears is considered the best passer in college basketball, and Michigan State generally gets solid defense from Fears and Scott. Jervis will need to refine his defense, but some of that is typical for a freshman learning Izzo's system. Jervis was seen as a player who could eventually earn a starting role; after all, he was the top recruit in the team's highly regarded 2026 class.
The backcourt's success and the frontcourt's shortcomings are making it hard to keep Jervis or Scott off the floor. Although it's not technically a three-guard lineup alongside Fears—since Scott is listed as a forward—it functions as one. The starting five Izzo chooses will reveal much about how this week went. MSU's three exhibition games have raised more questions than answers, and the answers must start coming soon, beginning with the game against Quinnipiac on Monday, Nov. 2. Tip-off is scheduled for 7 p.m. ET on B1G+.